KUOW Presents connects listeners to a diversity of stories and perspectives from around the Pacific Northwest and around the world on topics that matter to our daily lives.
Jeff's reputation as a bully was something of a legend in the coastal town where he grew up. Eight years later, and with a chance to start over again, Jeff knows why he bullied -- but he also knows why it might still work for him. Can someone grow out of bullying? And what would it take for bullying to seem less useful in the first place? In "Portrait Of The Bully As A Young Man," independent radio producer Jones Franzel takes on these messy life questions to get an honest and unflinching look at what it means to be a bully. This piece is presented by Blunt Youth Radio's Incarcerated Youth Speak Out Project.
The Book “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” takes us on a journey into the heart of a squatter’s settlement in Mumbai India, where the main economy is trash picking. Its author, Katherine Boo, spent three years among the residents of the Annawadi slum. It’s a sprawling settlement of more than 300 tin-roof huts and shacks that exists in the shadow of Mumbai’s International Airport. From within this “sumpy plug of slum” Boo unearths stories of the people who live there, both tragic and poignant. We learn about the residents’ efforts to raise families, how they struggle to earn a living, and survive. Katherine Book talked with American Public Media's Dick Gordon, about why she felt so compelled to tell this story.
In suburban Chicago, there’s a landmark building that stands out from all the others. The most obvious reason the building stands out is its color — it’s purple. Really purple. The other, less obvious reason the building stands out? It was once the swankiest hotel in the area, hosting everyone from Michael Jordan to Barry Manilow. Then, it slowly became the most notorious building in the area, for hosting … less swanky people and events. Independent producer Roman Mars brings us the surprising history of the purple hotel.
Let's admit it: Most Christmas music stinks. Subjected to the same cloying songs about sleigh rides and snowmen, otherwise upstanding citizens seek comfort from well-fortified eggnog. But 50 years ago, composer Vince Guaraldi created a different sort of Christmas album. It's called "A Charlie Brown Christmas." It was the soundtrack to a television special of the same name. Many of its songs have become jazz standards. And half a century later, even humbugs seem to enjoy it.
Hear from some of the folks who were around when this iconic album was created: Jeane Schulz, the cartoonist's widow; Jerry Granelli, the drummer; and Lee Mendelsohn, the producer.
When Fredrick Bealfield became a cop, he went after the drug dealers. After all, his city seemed overrun with them. It took him years to decide drugs weren’t the real problem. The problem, he says, was people using guns to commit crimes.
When he became Baltimore’s top cop, he took this realization with him. He told his force to let the person with the bag of weed get away. Instead, he told police to go after the man with the gun. He claims this unconventional strategy lowered the murder rate in Baltimore dramatically.
Neuroscientist Richard Davidson is a leading expert on the science of mindfulness. He's teamed up with the Dalai Lama to put Buddhist monks in brain scanners to help him develop a new scientific model for studying emotion. He tells us how his scientific work ended up changing his own life.
Whether it’s sprinkled on a latte or baked into spice cookies, nutmeg is a pretty omnipresent seasoning during the holidays. But the history of this warming spice is centuries long. It’s also surprisingly sad and gruesome. Grab some eggnog and settle in as NPR’s Allison Aubrey explores the dramatic story of nutmeg.
